Believers from across the country followed the miraculous icon of the Holy Mother of God in its procession this morning from the Bachkovo Monastery “Assumption of the Holy Virgin” to the locality of Kluviyata.
Every year on the second day of Easter, a copy of the holy icon is taken out of the monastery church “St. Mary,” with the solemn ringing of bells, by the abbot of the holy monastery, Velichki Bishop Sioniy, monks, and laypeople.
The icon was carried by worshipers and led by a wreath of spring flowers.
There are many miracles associated with the icon, and when tens of thousands of laypeople gather, then the Lord hears this prayer and pours His grace upon us, said Velichki Bishop Sioniy, abbot of the Bachkovo Monastery. “It is precisely for this reason that these processions take place – so that we can all be together around the holy icon, accompany it to the place where it was hidden, and pray to receive God's blessing,” he added. The bishop also said that he had repeatedly witnessed miracles before the icon of the Holy Mother of God, both in the past and in the most recent days, but the greatest miracle for us Christians is the miracle of the Resurrection.
According to tradition, the icon was found in a rock niche in the Kluviyata locality four centuries ago. It was hidden there from the Ottoman raids and forgotten over time. After being taken to the monastery, the icon disappeared and was found again in the same place. Therefore, worshipers and monks organize a procession to the locality, where today there is a chapel of “St. Archangels”. The path to Kluviyata is about four kilometers. In the afternoon, the icon will be returned to the monastery.
Throughout the day, people flock to the temple of the Bachkovo Monastery to touch the miraculous icon of the Holy Mother of God, to pray and give thanks.